Mathieu Jacobs wrote:
> [snipped] upon a spurt of insanity purchased a 1984 pinarello montello
> that is nickle plated!
> Can anybody help me with information on this bike? Was it considered a
> higher quality italian frame? Nickle finish, what is that about?
To which Mark responded:
I don't know where the name Montello comes from, but it apparently has been Pinarello's top of the line frame for some time. Google tells us that Montello appears in several place names in Italy, such as Selva del Montello, Crocetta del Montello, Giavera del Montello, Volpago del Montello; which are all in the Veneto region I believe -- as is Treviso, home of Pinarello. So it may be just a place name, or it might mean something in the local dialect -- "little mountain" maybe? Alexei Grewal won the 1984 Olympics Men's Road Race on a Montello. His was painted though - can't tell you anything about the nickel plated version. Sounds nice - any chance you could snap some photos of it?
The Montello is a hill in the Veneto and was the site of the 1985 world championship road race, won by Joop Zoetemelk (I was there watching it). The track races were held in Bassano del Grappa. To the best of my recollection, the Montello model was brought out in 1983 shortly after the Italian federation was selected as the site for the WC. As for the nickel plated bike, my guess is that this was perhaps one of the cromovelato frames that were all the rage at Pinarello at the time. These frames were chromed (which includes a nickel plating too) and then had a transparent colored coat applied on top. The top coat often peeled off leaving a nickel-like color. If you post a photo somewhere it might be easier to say for sure.
Steven Maasland
Moorestown, NJ
USA